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Oligomerization Driven by Phase Separation
Author(s) -
Myrgorodska Iuliia,
Colomer Ignacio,
Fletcher Stephen P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemsystemschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2570-4206
DOI - 10.1002/syst.201900059
Subject(s) - reactivity (psychology) , liquid liquid , homogeneous , phase (matter) , work (physics) , chemical physics , chemistry , liquid phase , product (mathematics) , chemical reaction , chemical equilibrium , materials science , chromatography , organic chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , geometry , mathematics
Chemical reactions occurring within liquid‐liquid phase separated systems drive numerous biological processes and have likely been involved in the emergence of first cellular compartments. Herein we report a reaction whose product distribution is drastically affected by the presence of a liquid‐liquid interface. Under phase separated conditions, the system produces a dynamic library of increasingly complex oligomeric structures. This reactivity is in sharp contrast to results under homogeneous conditions; when there is no phase separation only two thermodynamically stable products are formed. The reactivity observed using phase separated conditions stems from generating a dynamic out‐of‐equilibrium self‐assembling system. This work shows that relatively complex oligomeric products that would not be otherwise easily accessible can be made by biphasic out‐of‐equilibrium processes.